In volatile, uncertain moments like the rioting in
Baltimore, most people inevitably say to themselves, “I wonder what that guy
from Grey’s Anatomy thinks of all
this” or, “I bet my favorite hip hop star has a thoughtful take on what’s
happening.”

Well, no, they don’t. But that rarely stops celebrities
from sharing anyway.

Since 25-year-old Freddie Gray’s funeral on April 27,
certain celebrities have taken to Twitter to sympathize with the rioters. From Jesse
Williams (Grey’s Anatomy) and Penn Badgley
(Gossip Girl) to hip hop artist Talib
Kweli Greene, big names are blaming “police brutality” and “oppression” for the
riots – to their collective audience of millions.

To his 969,000 followers, actor Jesse Williams posted a
flurry of tweets on Baltimore including:

“You want
us to condemn black folks being violent against PROPERTY but you NEVER condemn
police killing actual PEOPLE. #Explain #JustTry”

“The
reaction to oppression has always been spun & marketed as validation
for the status quo.”

“Police violence
caused ‘riots.’ You wanna stop riots? stand up against police brutality that is
killing people of color indiscriminately.”

Using similar language, “Police brutality” came up twice
in rapper David Banner’s Baltimore tweets.

“I want to hear how Hilary Clinton feels about what's
going on in Baltimore and around the nation regarding Police brutality” he tweeted,
and later
added that he was discussing “police brutality” in the MSNBC studios.

Some of Banner’s other anti-police tweets to his 641,000
followers:

“So they
kill us and no one comes to the rescue. Why are crooked cops not called thugs?
Where is the national guard for us.”

“Applaud
these kids for having the balls to do what we wouldn't. Stop beating them
in public like the police.”

On April 19, the day of Gray’s death, actor Penn Badgley similarly
tweeted
that “An instance of police brutality is the final blow in a longer struggle.
Myriad forms of oppression wage war on an individual for a lifetime.”

Again incorporating “police brutality,” rapper Freddie
Gibbs wrote,
“I lost one of my best friends to police brutality in 2006” but urged
“Baltimore I respect it, 100%. Just do it peacefully, we don't need an excuse
for them to kill another one of us. #FreddyGray.” That plea apparently went
unheeded.

Russell Simmons, cofounder of
hip-hop music label Def Jam, had more success, since he urged Baltimore
law enforcement to “PLS show constraint + be peaceful.”

Limiting himself to one tweet on the topic, Rapper YG acknowleged, “Baltimore
doing what they suppose 2 be doing.”

A bit more indirect in his message, Singer John Legend tweeted
out an article
published by The Atlantic’s entitled, “Nonviolence as Compliance in Baltimore.”

Imitating the celebrities, media hosts also picked
certain language when discussing Baltimore, from CNN’s Marc Lamont Hill arguing
“this is not a riot” but “uprisings” against “police terrorism” to MSNBC’s Rachel
Maddow declaring
that Baltimore police were “a little out of control.”